Well they finally did it - they made a FIRST BLOOD style "returning vet" movie more true to the spirit of the book than the actual Stallone movie. Here they transplant the action to a sleepy Lake Tahoe community and the flashback scenes to Afghanistan.
The biggest difference here is that the main character isn't too terribly sympathetic. He's a man of few words who goes around thieving and mysteriously prowling around at night in between awkward episodes with prostitutes and periods of just sort of sitting or wandering or staring off into space. This could have been alleviated to some degree if we got a chance to find a human side of him in the flashback scenes, but such scenes only serve to make him seem like even more of a wretch long before the American defeat at the hands of the Taliban got to him.
The plot of the movie focuses on his relationship with a young woman who just happens to make him her "fixer upper" project and goes well out of her way to try to pick up his pieces. Actress Rosanna Wyant handles the drama and the romantic undertones well, but it comes off as rather ridiculous that a woman as young and attractive as her would be so cavalier to put herself into so much danger. I think it would have made a lot more sense if her character were a middle aged spinster with a low self esteem and fresh out of a long term marriage with an abusive ex-husband, and/or if the veteran starts the movie by rescuing her from a mugger or something.
Major narrative contrivances aside, the movie becomes a lot more fun when the main character's old war buddy finally pops by to relive old times, but by then it was far too late in the picture for anything substantive to come out. The big shocking finale comes off extremely cold and maybe even insensitive (to some viewers), but misses a big opportunity for some fun awkward tension in favor of a quick and dirty fight scene.
Excellent cinematography and evocative sound design help elevate this ultra-low budget drama to a degree, and the strongest performance oddly comes from director Fredianelli himself as the war buddy. Look out for the war scenes where the production spent a surprisingly large amount of money on the proper uniforms and gear, plus the burnt out Afghan village looks amazing. It's too bad that the grunts seem to act in such a completely unprofessional manner which makes things feel a tad less authentic. I did however appreciate the few artistic touches linking the flashbacks to the present day storyline, though I wish there were more of them and a stronger thematic through-line like we saw in FIRST BLOOD or THE DEER HUNTER.
